


The Circle Expands

by LilFelber



Category: Circle of Magic - Tamora Pierce, Emelan - Tamora Pierce, PIERCE Tamora - Works
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Magic School
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-24
Updated: 2020-03-24
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:55:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23302000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilFelber/pseuds/LilFelber
Summary: The four return from Namorn, the circle reformed and stronger than before. But what happens next?Does Tris go to Lightsbridge?Does Daja get over Rizu?Does Sandry take over Emelan?Does Briar settle down?What about their friends and students? This series takes place in the years after their adventures in Namorn, following the circle as the grow up, find new students, new loves, and new lives.
Relationships: Briar Moss & Dedicate Rosethorn, Daja Kisubo & Briar Moss, Daja Kisubo & Sandrilene fa Toren, Daja Kisubo/Original Female Character(s), Trisana Chandler & Briar Moss, Trisana Chandler & Daja Kisubo, Trisana Chandler & Daja Kisubo & Briar Moss & Sandrilene fa Toren, Trisana Chandler & Sandrilene fa Toren
Comments: 4
Kudos: 15





	1. What to do with an Empty house?

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first Emelan story. I've loved these books for over a decade and am always hoping that Tamora will write more. But until she does, I figured I'd say what I want to happen. I'm not great about finishing stories, but since I'm stuck in social isolation for the foreseeable future I figured I may be able to keep it up now. 
> 
> Un-beta'd and if I forgot something/remembered the characters wrong please feel free to give corrections.

Tris wasn’t sure if it had been her idea or one of her siblings, then again that was bound to happen with how much they were in each other’s heads these days. Some days it felt like she was living four separate lives all across Summersea without ever leaving her house and shop.

She signed as she watched Glaki read from one of her texts on runes while holding a half dozen or so crystals in the air, allowing them to weave around her hand in intricate patterns. Several other students also sat in the lush, shady garden that filled the courtyard working on their own crafts. Tris looked down on the students from her third story window, wondering not for the first time how the house at 42 Cheeseman Street that she shared with her foster-siblings had become a school for ambient mages.

It had been almost a decade since she had returned from Namorn with her siblings and none of them had been idle in that time. Sandry had spent the time working with her Uncle, running Emelan alongside him. Last year he had made it publicly known that he had named her his heir, much to no one’s surprise apart from Sandry. Duke Vedris was getting older, but Tris fully expected him to last another five years or more before stepping down to allow Sandry to rule. The noble woman still beat off suitors on a regular basis, saying more and more how she approved of her cousin the Empress of Namorn, who had never married and kept her children’s fathers a secret. Tris didn’t believe that Sandry would follow that route but Sandry lived to surprise.

Daja’s working with living metal and connections to the Traders had meant she had grown in wealth, popularity, and power all while allowing her to build a happy life for herself in Summersea. She had outgrown the small forge onsite at 42 Cheeseman Street years ago and had purchased a larger forge and store front in the craftmen’s distract of the city. Under her and Briar’s watchful eye, a living metal garden had been cultivated in an empty lot near her new forge which acted as free advertising for both of their works. There copper rose bloomed, tin ivy climbed walls, and steel trees produced golden and silver fruit. Several of Briar’s lads kept a careful watch on the garden to make sure the fruit didn’t go missing, although the spells the four had laid upon it would have done the job.

It had taken Daja a long time to come to terms with the heartbreak she faced after Rizu in Namorn, but eventually she began to open herself to other possibilities. Now she shared her life with a wonderful woman who had been one of Dedicate Gorse’s apprentices. Not a mage, Silla was an amazing baker and pastry chef who had come to Daja for help with a problematic stove that refused to heat evenly. Gorse had made the introduction on one of his rare trips up to the city. Promises of free bread and sweet cakes had intrigued Daja enough to fix the stove, despite it being outside her normal work load. A few months later and Daja had been slipping a ring made of her living brass on to the baker’s hand, the two had married shortly after and Silla had been a part of their lives the last 6 years.

Briar too had grown in wealthy and popularity, although with a much different crowd that his foster-sisters. His work with shakkans had made him friends with mages and gardeners across multiple countries, while his work with the poor and sick had made him connections with a much less noble class of people. His garden, which had started on a small plot of land behind their Cheesemen house had grown once they had pooled their money to buy large warehouse their house back up to. It had been simple work for the four to pull the wooden warehouse apart with their powers and turn the large open lot into a green paradise of trees, bushes, flowers, fruits, and vegetable all surrounded by hedges with thick spikey thorns.

What had started as helping during the plague and on his travels, had turned into a full medical practice for the orphans of the Mire. Never had a city had such well fed or healthy street rats, many of whom choose to sleep in Briar’s garden or Daja’s metal paradise when the weather was nice. When the weather turned wet or cold, they could be found sleeping in rooms attached to Briar’s workshop, Daja’s forge, or Tris’s store, the girls not being able to turn the children away after hearing so much about them from their brother. Sandry had bought up several abandon buildings in and around the Mire that her siblings had helped convert into Living Circle run schools, soup kitchens, and good affordable housing. Briar’s influence could be seen by the large gardens behind each that created safe green spaces for even the poorest of the Summersea.

Tris hadn’t sat her on hands these last years either. Four longs years of studying at Lightsbridge had earned her a second accreditation in academic magic which she worn next to her Winding Circle medallion hidden under her dress. She had set up a neat store near one of the busier markets of Summersea and began to make herself known as the mage to see for useful charms that worked well, lasted longer than a fortnight, and wouldn’t break your bank just to keep your food the correct temperature. But Niko had been right, that even doing everyday magic hadn’t kept her anonymous. Her ability to infuse her weather magic into academic settings had made her a rival with all her siblings in wealth and popularity, although she took to it less easily than the others. Her umbrella charms, that she attached to some of Daja’s living brass jewelry, had been extremely popular with the nobility and the harriers alike as many marveled at being able to walk outside in the rain under their own invisible dome. And her bottles filled with colorful lightning were popular presents for travelers or eccentrics who wanted to light their homes in unusual ways.

Daja had been the first to move out of the house on Cheesemen street a few months after her wedding, claiming it wasn’t close enough to her new forge or to Silla’s bakery. Secretly, Tris believed that Daja wanted privacy to start her new married life and that Tris’s weather working, Briar’s tendency to bring home a different person every few weeks, and Sandry’s willingness to drag her siblings into every problem the country faced didn’t make for a peaceful place for newlyweds.

Briar had followed only a few months later. When a small block of apartments that had been next to the warehouse turned garden came up for sale, we had purchased it without telling his siblings. Converting the two ground floor apartments into a work shop and his own housing, he had rented the four upper apartments to rotating string of entertainers, gardeners, and mages. Currently he rented out the top two apartments to four dancers from Yasmin’s studio, while the middle two were occupied by a young female mage who owned a sharp tongue and an aptitude for potions and salves that intrigued Briar and a young couple who both worked as harriers.

Tris hadn’t known what to do with the big house on Cheesemen Street, despite only spending her sleeping hours there now that her store was up and running. She hadn’t wanted to sell it, there were too many memories wrapped up in it and Briar’s garden was still attached. Her own large library had taken over most of the third floor, only sharing the space with her small tidy bed room. And none of the other’s had space to gather for holidays, birthdays, and other gatherings. But it was much too big for just her.

* * *

Briar was packing up the last of his things from his old garden level room when he felt her coming. He could always tell when one of his sisters was in a bad mood. Daja made his skin feel tight like he had been too close a fire or out in the sun all day while Sandry made his clothes shake like his breeches were about to fall off. Tris was the worst though, as her displeasure felt like lighting through their bond. And right now, the weather witch was feeling very stormy.

He turned to the open door of his old room as she stepped through it, arms crossed in front of her, and lightning sparking along her braids.

“Heya Coppercurls,” he said with a half grin. “Keep sparking like that and someone may mistake you for a thundercloud”.

Tris ignored him, something she had been doing for as long as they had known each other.

“So, you’re just going to leave me here alone in this big old house by myself?” she asked indignantly. “Sandry is running the city, Daja has Silla, and now you are going to leave me too. Running off so you can drag home every pretty bit of fluff that catches your eye. Just going to leave me behind huh?”

Briar let his smile slip and sent a wave of understanding through their bond, silently calling out to her other two sisters as well.

“I’m not even going a block away, you’ll be able to see my apartment from your window, and you know I’ll still be over here every day to raid your kitchen.”

“You most certainly will not,” Tris huffed as she sat down on his bed. “If this isn’t your home, then you will not be raiding anything from the kitchen.”

_This will always be my home Coppercurls_ , Brian said through their bond.

_Ours too_ , echoed Daja and Sandry.

_We just need some space to grow_ , added Daja.

_This isn’t like last time when we were apart_ , said Sandry.

_No wars, murderers, fires, or anti-magic this time_ , Briar joked and sat down next to her.

Tris elbowed him, _No. I’m sure you’ll get into all kinds of other trouble_. But the heat was leaving her voice. _But really, what am I supposed to do with this place. I don’t need all this room and maintaining it for just me is such a waste,_ Tris added.

_You couldn’t always invite someone else to live there,_ Sandry said.

Now that Tris was calmer, she had started reading through reports again, something that Sandry spent an ungodly amount of time doing these days.

Briar and Daja sent amused mental laughter through the bond as Tris squawked at the idea of sharing their house with other people, _And who exactly am I supposed to let stay with me?_

_Well, Jory and Nia are coming in a few weeks to stay and learn from some of the mages here. I know they don’t want to stay at Winding Circle_ , Daja said.

_And Evy and Pasco are both looking for somewhere else to live now that they’ve gained their mage credentials,_ offered Sandry.

_And weren’t you just saying that Glaki wanted to move out of Disciple for a year or so before heading to Lightsbridge?_ Asked Briar.

Tris squinted her eyes. _So, now I’m going to be a boarding house for all your various students? I won’t be their nursemaid._

“Anyone who asked you to be a nursemaid greatly misjudged you compassion,” Briar said, earning him another elbow that he easily dodged, and a small lightning shock that he didn’t.

_Honestly Tris, you know as well as I do that Jory, Nia, Evy, and Pasco are all older than we were when Daja bought the house_ , Sandry said offhandedly. She was comparing a report of tax income from trade of grain to the year before. _Do these numbers look right to you?_

Her siblings all glanced at the numbers through Sandry’s eyes.

_The taxes look correct,_ said Tris finally after doing her own mental calculations.

_But those numbers of bushels of grain should be higher if last year was any marker,_ Daja added as she paused her work of inspected iron bars. She was checking a new supplier for consistent quality before placing a large order.

It was Briar who had the answer though, _It’s the soil. It’s tired from too many years growing the same grains. Rosethorn has been telling them for years that they need to rotate or they fields won’t produce._

With that settled Daja rounded back to Tris and the problem of 42 Cheeseman Street. _Well, you don’t have to take in our former students, but you make a good point. We really should do something with the Cheeseman street house._

Brian nudged his sister kindly, _Whatever we do though, we do it together alright Coppercurls?_

Tris felt her sisters agree and for the first time in a few weeks remembered that she wasn’t alone even if she was the only person living at 42 Cheeseman Street.


	2. A Magical Flute... player?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Briar and Tris investigate a new Ambient Mage that has a special way with sound.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next few chapters are going to be about the four collecting new students and transforming their house into a school. Guest appearances from Rosethorn, Lark, Crane, and others to come.

Briar had his eye’s closed as he ran his power over and through a new _shakkan_ he was working with. The miniature apple tree had been purchased that morning from a traveling caravan and it had not done well traveling, brown smudges showing in his mage site where bright green should have been. It was one of several _shakkans_ he had purchased form the caravan and was by the far the most in need of his help. He was pouring just enough of his own magic into the plant to bolster it until it could recover from its travels. Briar knew that too much of his power and the tree would try to grow past the size it was meant to be and too little wouldn’t help enough

He was just pulling out of his trance when he heard voices through his window. The window overlooked the small courtyard behind the apartments he owned and currently housed the harrier couple that rented one the second-floor apartments. The two men normally spent this time stretching and practicing with baton and short sword, but it sounded like today they were spending more time gossiping then sparing. Normally he would tune them out, but today something one of them said made him pay attention.

“…it’s almost like magic. I’m telling you Lor, the way that boy places his flute is amazing” Emry said brightly. “He was playing outside of the Iron Tankard and you know how rough that place is. But every single person who came in or out stopped to listen to at least one tune and all of them slipped coins into his basket. I’ve not heard music like that since, well, since ever really.”

Briar’s brows furrowed. The Iron Tankard was a port side tavern that had a clientele of mostly sailors and dockworkers, neither of which were known to be interested in music or giving their money to street performers unless those performers wore very little clothing.

“It was just a boy with a flute?” asked Lorian, Emry’s partner in the harriers and in life. “Is it that little scrap of nothing with the sandy brown hair? Always looks like he hasn’t eaten but has a purse full of coins after he plays? I’ve heard him play over near Melda’s House.”

“Aye, that’s him,” replied Emry. “And what were you doing over near Melda’s house?”

Briar grinned despite himself. Melda’s House was one of the cities most expensive and exclusive brothels. Briar tended their flower boxes and herb garden in exchange for Melda passing along any interesting gossip she may hear, and for the occasional drink at their bar. He knew better than to partake in any of their more erotic wares.

Briar lost the rest of the conversation at the two harriers moved away from the window. He thought it over a moment before reaching out to his sisters. His connection with Daja was red hot, she must have been in her fire magic so he pulled back from her. Her magic wouldn’t hurt him but he didn’t want to disturb. Sandry sent a polite magical surge that meant she was occupied but if need be, they could interrupt. He sent back a similar pulse saying it wasn’t urgent.

Tris responded with a wave of curiosity and Briar let her into his thoughts, knowing she would pull out what was necessary.

_Are you thinking the boy has some kind of ambient musical magic?_ Tris asked after going over the little he had heard.

_I don’t know, may be, but I’m just as interested in how there is boy on the streets making that kind of money while still wearing rags and I haven’t heard of him,_ answered Briar. _It could mean some kind of thief king or someone making the boy play and taking the money._

_Neither of which you’d approve of,_ Tris said with a sniff. _Either way, it’s an interesting puzzle to solve. Give me an hour to finish up my work and tell the shop girl I’m going out. Meet me here?_

Briar agreed and quickly finished his own work before changing from his loose work clothes into sturdier breeches of tan and a dark green shirt. He wrapped a sash of bronze colored linen around his waist, tucking in a few of his seed balls. He checked his knives as was his habit before he left, first the two in his boots, then the two on his calves, followed by the ones he accessed through his pants pockets. Next the belt buckle knife, the two small throwing blades he kept on his lower back, and the large flat blade that sat at the base his neck. He hadn’t had to use them for more than show in years, but he felt more naked without them than he did undressed. He checked his wards and made sure to lock the door to his workshop before heading towards Tris’s shop.

Tris was walking out the back door as he approached, she must have felt him near, and they fell into step next to each other easily.

“So, where would you like to start?” Tris asked as the headed toward the wharf along the back roads. Both Tris and Briar liked to use less popular streets when possible, neither liking the sensation of being crowded.

“I’m thinking we stop by Melda’s,” Briar answered with a casual look that melted into a smile at Tris’s questioning smile. “Oh come on Merchant girl, it’s the world’s oldest profession. You must appreciate that.”

“I have no problem with Melda or her profession” Tris replied. “I spent too much time among the _yaskedasi_ in Tharios to look down my nose at them. Besides, Melda’s has good food. But why start there any not the Iron Tankard?”

Briar let the comment about the food slide for the moment, but remembered to ask her about it later. “Mostly just that it’s closer and Melda’s a friend, if the boy is playing anywhere near her place, she’ll know about it.”

Tris nodded and linked her arm with Briar before allowing her spectacles to slide down her nose a bit and peering past them into the wind. Briar was used to this behavior as they walked the city like this often. His sister was scrying the wind, listening and looking for any sign of trouble before it got to them.

_Anything interesting?_ Briar asked

_Not really,_ Tris replied. She shared a few images with him over their link. _Although you may want to have one of your boys swing by the flower market this evening. It seems there has been several robberies from a few of the herbals that you trade with._

Briar made a note to check in on his suppliers as they continued their walk towards Melda’s.

Suddenly Tris pulled up short. Briar sent a questioning probe through their link. When that didn’t work he nudge her with his elbow.

“What you seeing Coppercurls?”

“It’s not what I’m seeing, it’s what I’m hearing,” she said after a moment. A quick spin of her hand and the wind that had steadily flown past her ear moved towards his and he began to hear what she did. A lively music played on a pan flute. Briar felt his feet start to tap and he almost burst into dance before he shook himself loose of the magic.

“Well, I guess we are in luck,” he said with a grin as he pulled his magical shields tighter. With a nod to each other, he and Tris were on their way again. As they came around the corner, they caught their first glimpse of Melda’s tall white building with red shutters. In front of the house a small crowd had gathered around several of Melda’s girls as they danced with several young men. Briar recognized one of them as a dancer from Yasmin’s studio, and by the way the other boys moved they must all study there.

The dancers spun in complicated patterns as the crowd tapped their feet and clapped their hands. The music was supplied by a small boy with light colored hair, the tanned skin of someone who spent most of their time outside, and clothes that were various colors of grey or beige none of which fit him properly. He sat on a crate in front of Melda’s playing his flute, a cap sitting next to him already showed a healthy taking for the day.

_Do you see it?_ Tris asked.

Briar closed his eyes and did the twist to his magic that allowed him to see magic. When he opened them again, he grinned widely. The boy glowed silver in his magic sight, most of it was directed through his flute and out to the audience where it spread out like a mist. Briar saw that it seemed to gather on people like pollen, gaining strength the more they were exposed to it.

_Well that’s interesting for sure,_ Briar said. _You ever seen music magic done that way?_

Tris shook her head, _Not exactly. It’s like dew or fog that’s collecting after a storm. So fine you don’t even know you are getting wet until you’re drenched._ She pursed her lips together sternly. _We should probably do something about it though, he really shouldn’t be allowed to influence people like that._

Briar shrugged, _Probably but let him finish the song, no need to make a scene. Watch him and I’ll get Melda to call the girls in, that should wrap this all up hopefully._

Tris nodded, her eyes fixed on the boy as Briar slipped through the crowd over to Melda, who was standing by the door.

Melda was a stately middle-aged woman who still turned heads. Her dark hair was heavily streaked with silver, and her eyes were outlined in kohl. She wore an elegant gown of white silk, embroidered with moons and stars in silver thread. The moon motif carried over to her silver jewelry and to the gray shawl she had wrapped around her as she watched her girls dance, her own foot tapping to the beat.

She smiled as he approached, “I’m surprised you aren’t out there dancing yourself Briar. I didn’t know you could leave my girls alone.”

Briar smirked, “Oh Melda, you know that you stole my heart a long time ago, those girls are merely a distraction when I come to weed your garden.”

He was reward with a playful slap on the arm and a chuckle from Melda. “I saw your weather witch of sister with you, and you two aren’t known to stroll idly around the city. What do you need boy?”

“As much as it hurts me to say it, I need the girls to stop dancing,” he replied.

“Well that is interesting. And why should I do that?” Melda replied with a raised brow.

“Well, for one because you know I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t need you to do it,” he said slyly. “But for a more honest answer, the boys got magic. Strange magic like my sisters and I, and Tris and I mean to do something about it.”

Melda glanced at the boy, her eyes squinting at him. “I always thought the way Miro played was wonderful, that explains it I suppose. After this song if you don’t mind, don’t want to cause a scene if you plan on getting to the boy.”

Briar smiled “My thinking exactly,” he braced himself against the wall near Melda and called to one of the rose bushes nearby. I large white rose began to bloom and he deftly cut the flower, trimmed the thorns, and applied a bit of salve to the stem. It was a trick he had used before, notably with the Empress of Namorn, but it almost never failed to impress. He extended the rose to Melda with a wink “A simple thank you from a simple gardener.”

Melda gave him a smile under an appraising eye and took the rose. “Simple gardener my eye boy.”

As the dancers began to wind down and the song began to end Melda moved towards the circle of people “Alright girls, enough fun for the afternoon, you all have things to do before this evening. I’m sure these boys do as well, even if it is just changing so they can come back to dance with you again. Inside this time,” she said with a wink that caused a chuckle to run through the crowd. She turned towards the boy, ruffled his hair and slipped a large coin into the hat.

Briar made his way towards the boys, sensing that Tris was doing the same, as the crowd dispersed and the girls followed Melda inside. The boy was quickly putting coins into a small purse, one eye on the crowd. Briar saw the moment that the boy saw Tris, her wide skirts and red hair making her stand out. The boy tracked Tris with his eyes while his hands still transferred coins to purse and flute to bag. Briar sidled up next to the boy unnoticed, cutting off his exit if he decided to run.

“She sure does stand out in a crowd, doesn’t she?” Briar asked, leaning against the box next to the boy. As boy startled and looked at Briar, Tris used the time to close the distance between them, moving quicker than most would assume the plump girl could.

The boy’s eyes widened as he realized he was corned by two people a decade older than him and many times better dressed. He didn’t move or speak, only his eyes moving between the two of them as he gripped his bag and purse.

“Oh, her bark is much worse than her bite my lad,” Briar said with a smile. If Tris was going to play the concerned auntie then he would play the fun uncle. “Then again her bite does sting.”

“My bark and bite are none of the boys concern Briar Moss,” Tris said with an eye roll. “What is his concern is explaining what he thinks he is doing playing music like that?”

Briar raised a brow at his sister and she sent by the mental equivalent of a shrug. He waited for the boy to answer.

“Wotch’a mean playing music like what? I was just giving the girls something to dance to,” the boy said, his voice higher than Briar expected. Briar felt as well as saw the tiniest bit of silver magic escape the boy’s mouth as he spoke. Instinctively, Briar knew that if his shields weren’t up he would be much more inclined to believe the boy.

_Well that is interesting,_ Tris thought, _not just magic with music, but with speech as well._

_Maybe it’s more related to sound in general than just music or speech?_ Briar answer.

_That’s is an intriguing and horrifying thought_ , Tris sent back.

“What she means my lad, is what do you mean by the magic you are sending out when you play?” Briar said as he absentmindedly cleaned a bit of dirt from under a nail.

The boy paled and his mouth opened, moving buy not sound came out for moment. Tris sighed heavily, crossed her arms, and began tapping her foot. “Come on boy, you know what we mean. You’ve too much control not to guess at something. Not here, not living this close to Winding Circle, not with Ambient Mages being on every corner here in Summersea. Don’t bother denying it, my brother and I both mages and we can see your magic as clear as day. And do shut your mouth, you are likely to swallow a fly that way.”

The boy’s mouth snapped shut. He swallowed heavily before he answered. “I’m not… I’m not from here Mistress. I just got here two moons ago from near Anderran. I don’t, I don’t know what am-vi-ant mages are?”

Sandry must have been keeping an ear on her siblings because her voice rung in their ears, _We brought in a couple small village’s worth of refugees from down near the boarder a bit back. Some Anderrian border lords are causing a fuss with some raiders out of the battle islands and it’s spilling over. Mostly just the elderly, women, and young children. He must have come up with them, I’ll have someone pull the records for you to look through Tris._

Briar and Tris sent a pulse of gratitude through their connection.

Briar caught Tris’ eye, _That would explain why we hadn’t heard of him before and why he isn’t all that familiar with our type of magic. Still don’t explain were the money is going?_

_Still DOESN’T explain,_ Tris corrected automatically.

“Well then boy, this is us telling you. You’ve got magic in you, congratulations you’re a mage” Briar said with a grin as the boy’s mouth dropped open again.

Briar felt Daja’s presence in the back of his mind, _Oh are we adopting strays again? Good, because I’m pretty sure that one of Silla’s apprentices is some kind of water mage. I just hadn’t had a chance to ask Tris to test her yet._

Briar let a laugh and winked at Tris, _Looks like the house isn’t going to be as quiet as your thought._


End file.
